WAGE DATA · SOC 47-2073

OPERATING ENGINEER PAY
IN NEW YORK.

New York operating engineers earn a median of $38.59/hr (BLS 2024). 14,700 workers employed statewide. Compare market wages, federal prevailing rates, and per-diem baselines below.

// SWITCH VIEW
ALL 50 STATES · OPERATING ENGINEER
// BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS · STATEWIDEOEWS · MAY 2024
HOURLY MEDIAN
$38.59/hr
MEAN HOURLY
$44.93/hr
ANNUAL MEDIAN
$80K
EMPLOYED
14,700
10th · $23.68MEDIAN · $38.5990th · $75.91
// DAVIS-BACON · FEDERAL PREVAILING WAGE98 ACTIVE WDS

Active Wage Determinations · New York

98 active Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations cover New York. Each WD sets the legal minimum wage (base + fringe by trade classification) on federally-funded construction in the counties it applies to. Showing the 12 most recently modified — click through for the per-trade rates on sam.gov.

NY20260010 · MOD 1
Building · Heavy · Highway · Monroe
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260011 · MOD 1
Heavy · Highway · Niagara
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260113 · MOD 1
Building · Otsego
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260012 · MOD 1
Building · Heavy · Highway · Residential · Nassau, Suffolk
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260013 · MOD 1
Building · Oneida
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260014 · MOD 1
Heavy · Highway · Oneida
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260015 · MOD 1
Heavy · Highway · Madison
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260016 · MOD 1
Heavy · Highway · Onondaga
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260017 · MOD 1
Building · Heavy · Highway · Residential · Westchester
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260002 · MOD 1
Building · Heavy · Highway · Albany, Columbia, Fulton +7
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260020 · MOD 1
Building · Heavy · Highway · Residential · Rockland
MOD
2026-01-30
NY20260001 · MOD 1
Heavy · Oneida, Albany, Columbia +59
MOD
2026-01-30

Per-trade rates (the actual $/hr for operating engineers by county) are published on the SAM.gov detail page for each WD. Browse all 98 New York Wage Determinations on sam.gov. If a contractor on a federal job is paying below the WD, file a WH-3 with DOL WHD.

// GSA PER DIEM · FY 2026GSA

Lodging + M&IE by City

The federal government's per-diem rate is the baseline most contractors use. If your job's per diem is below this, you're subsidizing the contractor.

New York City
Bronx / Kings / New York / Queens / Richmond
$369
/day · meals $92
Lake Placid
Essex
$256
/day · meals $86
Tarrytown / White Plains / New Rochelle
Westchester
$253
/day · meals $92
Floral Park / Garden City / Great Neck
Nassau
$250
/day · meals $86
Riverhead / Ronkonkoma / Melville
Suffolk
$241
/day · meals $86
Kingston
Ulster
$225
/day · meals $86
Ithaca
Tompkins
$224
/day · meals $80
Saratoga Springs / Schenectady
Saratoga / Schenectady
$221
/day · meals $80
Glens Falls
Warren
$215
/day · meals $86
Rochester
Monroe
$212
/day · meals $80
Nyack / Palisades
Rockland
$209
/day · meals $80
Buffalo
Erie
$208
/day · meals $80
// ROADHAND COMMUNITY DATABE FIRST

What are workers actually earning?

Government data is a baseline. Real take-home pay — including per diem, OT rules, housing allowances — comes from workers on the ground. Submit your pay anonymously to help the next hand.

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OTHER TRADES IN NEW YORK

ElectricianWelderPipefitterIronworkerMillwrightBoilermakerCarpenterPlumberInsulator

OPERATING ENGINEER PAY IN OTHER STATES

AlaskaCaliforniaColoradoLouisianaMontanaNew MexicoNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaPennsylvaniaTexasWest VirginiaWyoming

FAQ

How much does a operating engineer earn in New York?+
According to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024), operating engineers in New York earn a median of $38.59/hr. That's roughly $80K/year for a full-time schedule at straight time.
What's the top pay for operating engineers in New York?+
The top 10% of operating engineers in New York earn more than $75.91/hr (BLS 2024). That represents experienced workers, supervisors, or those on high-per-diem travel contracts.
How many operating engineers work in New York?+
BLS reports 14,700 operating engineers employed in New York as of 2024. Numbers fluctuate with major construction cycles — when big projects like LNG terminals or data centers start, demand spikes.
Do operating engineers in New York get per diem?+
Per diem is standard on travel contracts. The federal GSA baseline for New York is typically $150-$260/day depending on the city. Contractors may set their per diem higher or lower — if it's below the GSA floor, you're subsidizing the contractor's housing budget out of pocket.
What's Davis-Bacon prevailing wage?+
Davis-Bacon rates are the legally-required minimum wages on federally-funded construction projects — base pay plus fringe benefits. Every contractor working a federal job must pay at least the Davis-Bacon rate for that county and trade. Private-sector jobs don't have to match, but many do as a competitive floor.